Isn’t it weird how the single most influential piece of Christmas-related media is technically a horror story? One of the greatest literary hits of the 19th century, one can even make the argument that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol paved the way for the rise of Victorian Spiritualism during the following decade. And while the […]
Isn’t it weird how the single most influential piece of Christmas-related media is technically a horror story? One of the greatest literary hits of the 19th century, one can even make the argument that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carolpaved the way for the rise of Victorian Spiritualism during the following decade. And while the book’s iconic phantoms were immortalized by the gorgeous illustrations by John Leech, future adaptations of the story would all offer different interpretations of the ghosts that terrify Ebenezer Scrooge into becoming a better person.
With that in mind, we’ve decided to celebrate the holiday season by highlighting six of the scariest ghosts from over a century of A Christmas Carol adaptations. After all, with so many spooky spirits haunting cinema and television screens, we’re bound to run into some festive nightmare fuel along the way.
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite yuletide ghosts if you think we missed a particularly creepy example.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. The Ghost of Christmas Future – A Christmas Carol (2019)
The first of several Ghosts of Christmas Futures on this list, Nick Murphy and Stephen Knight’s reinvention of what is traditionally the scariest spirit of the bunch pushes this high-profile event series into even darker territory. Not only is this ghost played by the underrated character actor Jason Flemying, but the show also justifies spirit’s silence by giving him a crudely stitched mouth that more than makes up for the character no longer resembling the grim reaper.
The miniseries may have its issues, pushing an already spooky story into needlessly edgy territory (not to mention the absurd three-hour runtime), but Flemying’s take on the silent ghost – and Guy Pearce’s appropriately horrified reaction to him – is an undeniable highlight here.
5. Ghost of Christmas Present – A Christmas Carol (1984)
While this celebrated TV special is an all-around great adaptation, I especially appreciate how director Clive Donner depicts the usually jolly Ghost of Christmas Present as a more commanding figure willing to put Scrooge in his place – with Edward Woodward putting on a hell of a performance as this multifaceted phantom.
This is especially true during the scene where he chastises Scrooge using the old man’s own words and then reveals an oft-forgotten bit of Charles Dickens’ original story – Scrooge’s sickly “children,” appropriately named Ignorance and Want. I guess there’s a reason why most family-friendly adaptations leave this bit out…
4. The Ghost of Christmas Past – The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Jim Henson always fought for his puppetry to be taken seriously, advocating for a future where specialized artists like himself could be allowed to tell adult stories within their craft. And while the first Muppets film to be produced after Henson’s death was still technically a family picture, The Muppet Christmas Carol still features some appropriately chilling scares through its portrayal of the story’s classic ghosts.
You might expect me to feature their kick-ass design for the Ghost of Christmas Future here, but the fact is that this movie used to give me nightmares as a kid because of Brian Henson’s re-imagining of the typically innocuous Ghost of Christmas Past. Here depicted as a childlike doll with an uncanny face that floats around the screen like a true Victorian phantom (with the puppet actually having been filmed underwater), I still find myself haunted by the character’s oddly vacant stare.
3. Lew Heyward – Scrooged (1988)
Here’s a fun fact: Scrooged was originally released here in Brazil as TheGhosts Have Fun in order to cash in on Bill Murray’s previous success in Ghostbusters. This isn’t all that surprising when you consider that pitting Murray against a new set of visually diverse phantoms was one of the driving forces behind this troubled production. That’s why Richard Donner and his team went all-out when the time came to develop their modern-day twist on these undead messengers, with the film’s very first “ghost” also being one of its best.
Renamed to Lew Heyward, our stand-in for Jacob Marley is depicted as more of a walking corpse than a proper phantom, with the decomposing miser being brought to life by a mix of disgusting makeup effects and a memorable performance by John Forsythe. Of course, he’s only really scary when he takes off those ridiculous sunglasses!
2. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come – Scrooge (1935)
The first feature-length “talkie” to adapt Charles Dickens’ classic novella, Henry Edwards’ Scrooge still stands out amongst countless other adaptations of the same story by incorporating elements from German Expressionism into its visuals. And while the entire film is bathed in deeply gothic lighting and production design, this attention to detail also extends to the film’s depiction of the iconic ghosts.
More specifically, Scrooge features a surprisingly freaky reimagining of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, with the character borrowing from F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu in the way that he moves across the screen like a living shadow. It’s a small change, as the ghost doesn’t even appear that much due to the gimmick, but it really adds to the film’s darker sensibilities.
1. Ghost of Christmas Future – Scrooged (1988)
My personal favorite ghost design on this list, Scrooged’s take on the Ghost of Christmas Future remains both visually and conceptually frightening. While the spirit’s outward appearance has a lot in common with classical portrayals (and even the Muppets version), this more modern take on the ghost features a psychedelic television screen instead of a face – with the haunted TV’s programming being interrupted by nearly-subliminal flashes of a terrifying skull.
Of course, the most memorable moments involving this ghost occur when he opens his robe and reveals that his desiccated chest is inhabited by the lost souls of the damned, with the top-tier practical effects work being the reason why I think this this ghost is slightly scarier than Lew Heyward.
